Orthorexia Nervosa: the new eating disorder

bcattoes

I would say anytime you have to embarass your kid to refuse a piece of birthday cake that you are medicaly cleared to consume or have a food scale with you at a restaurant...you might have orthorexia nervosa.

If you've ever trimmed the fat on a boneless chicken breast...you might have orthorexia nervosa.

If you'll eat a cake from whole foods but won't eat a salad at mcdonalds...you might have orthorexia nervosa.

I suppose this is true, but then if you've ever listed reasons others might have orthorexia nervosa, you might have orthorexia nervosa.

I realize McD has permeated our society but I hope we never get to the point that choosing not to eat their expensive crappy food = disorder.

soulshine23

I really appreciate that this is getting more attention and talked about-

I grew up in a very food-obsessed house-
compulsive overeater for one parent
the other parent was a committed 'healthy' eater trying to compensate or 'fix' the other parent.
this produced kids who were
anorexic
bulimic
vegan
fitness-obsessed
nutrition-obsessed
overweight, underweight
totally unhealthy and unbalanced.

anyway, growing up in an environment like that and trying to deal with it in my own life- I am vegan and skirt issues of obsessive behaviors around food (very mild ON)- some years it has been so out of control, some years it is not even an issue. I am trying to find healthy balance. being a vegan doesn't really have anything to do with the ON, mostly because I am vegan for compassion/animal rights issues. I am not by any means a "clean" eater, I love all kinds of (vegan) JUNK.

my point is that I am very sensitive to other people who have ON-type behaviors, or overeaters, or compulsive personalities, bulimic, anorexic, etc. we had a restaurant for years that attracted so many people with these eating issues... the minority of our customers, but still, I could see them like they were wearing a sign above their head.

some of our employees wanted to work for us because they extended their ON to their lifestyle and job. so, I got to see some of these behaviors up close and personal as their employer. it was a real problem with some of them... some examples-

their caloric intake could not get them thru a work shift. they would hit the wall and not be able to do their work. totally unacceptable... they knew it and would adjust their food intake (usually by forcing down little homemade energy balls during a shift) but only by the bare minimum necessary.

their weight and body fat % was very low. some of the women had not had a period in months. it wasn't only women, the most severe "case" of this was actually a young man who was a triathlete.

it wasn't that they were anorexic, it was the total obsession with food, what it did, what it's nutritional breakdown was, what its possible medicinal benefit was, how it would affect them for energy or pleasure.

they also were totally vain, and constantly looking at themselves in the mirror. very odd.

I think it is a very easy trap to fall into- usually you get there from other emotional issues, and it is about control.

I totally think it exists!

MelodyandBarbells

The description in the OP was just a bit too broad. I turn down invites to outings and parties that would pretty much be drinking and eating unless I think I'll really miss the other activities. My thin friends would load up on huge slices of cake and full sugar soda and they could do this because they could control themselves the rest of the time ! I too would eat even larger and more slices of pizza and get even huger. Same thing at Chinese buffet restaurants, just no self control. So my choices were hang out a little less or find fun activities to do that didn't involve food. Nothing wrong with turning down the grub.

As to the comment on skinny girls doing Hours of cardio, how do you think they got that way? And yes, I agree what is this world coming to when focusing on your health is a bad thing. Imagine what else they could be out and about doing and instead they're on an elliptical. Ooohh, start an intervention!!!

Wtn_Gurl

I think there's an obvious and clear difference between choosing to live a healthy lifestyle and having this disorder. Those of you who turn down cake at a birthday party aren't remotely captured by this definition. In fact, the symptoms are very similar to anorexia.

- Continually cutting out foods that are not "pure"
- Feeling out of control, disgusting and like a failure if you eat "impure" foods
- A euphoric feeling of control when eating your chosen "pure" foods
- Food purity having no strong link to what is actually nutritionally sound
- Spending the majority of your thought power and waking hours on planning your meals and foods

etc etc... it's obvious this is far closer to OCD-spectrum disorders with ruminating thoughts and obsessive rituals than being targeted at people who are just eating healthy.

So, basically I think that sounds like a disorder to me. If you can't stop obsessing over it and think about anything else, it's a disorder. Granted, obsessive personalities could really get obsessed with anything, so maybe there's an argument to be made that it's not worth making a new disorder for everything an obsessive persion gets obsessed with.

Sometimes people trade one obsession for the other. If someone has something inside that is bugging them, and food was their medication, then you take that away but do not deal with whats eating you inside, you are going to find another obsession and/or addiction so that you can keep yourself self-medicated.

cwsreddy

I'm sure this condition exists, but vegans, paleo, or any other specific diet follower is not inherently orthorexic simply because they don't follow IIFYM.

Honeycat89

I completely agree!
I find that constantly obsessing about calories too is an eating disorder, i.e not allowing yourself a chocolate bar now and again. Or eating one and then exercising excessively to lose the calories you just ate...
I follow someone on instagram who did this, ate about ten jaffa cakes, and then ended up exercising excessively to burn those 400+ calories off!

That's crazy! This is when it becomes a problem, when you feel so guilty about eating an "unpure food" you feel like you have to rid it from your body.

WVprankster

Orthorexia Nervosa, AKA Strict Paleo

icwatudidthar :laugh:

Slim_strategy

Being consumed and obsessed with calorie counting, health foods, and exercising is definitely a mental disorder. I went through a period where it literally preoccupied every moment of my existence and it was miserable. I'm working on changing that mindset.

Ditto

Honeycat89

Being consumed and obsessed with calorie counting, health foods, and exercising is definitely a mental disorder. I went through a period where it literally preoccupied every moment of my existence and it was miserable. I'm working on changing that mindset.

Ditto

I hope you both succeed, it took allowing myself these "bad foods" to really change my relationship with food. I know everyone is different on this forum, some cut out unhealthy foods for health reasons, or to maintain weight loss. But once I allowed myself pasta, bread and chocolate etc so they were no longer a "reward" I stopped being so obsessed with what I was eating, and I've never been healthier in my life!

amblight

I study nutrition, and I'm pretty sure there are people in my class who suffers from this.

There is particulary one guy who I worry about. Everytime I hear from him, he's put in an extra rule to his diet. There are probably only a handfull of foods left that he can eat.

First he was vegan, which is all fine and easily manageable. Then he became raw vegan, ok, starting to get more difficult. Then he became 80/10/10. Then he specifies it further that it's not just 80/10/10 by the end of the day, each individual thing can have no more than 10% fat or protein. Then he also restricted his fiber intake exessively (no cabbages or it's relatives, no roots etc.). Then he also believes the body cannot consume more than one thing - so each meal has to be only one igredient - now I think he's even doing only 1 ingredient per day. And it's only soft mushy fruit.

We study nutrition, and he's not afraid to speak up and say that he certainly hope we won't go out and claim that health and drinking cow-tit-extract are possible together etc., and if we want to waste our lives with having a beer on a friday, then we know what's coming to us.

He sounds like a blast to party with. :drinker:

He doesn't want to party with us, he won't be associated with such filthy and deadly habits! He'll sit at home and gnaw on a sun dried date

Honeycat89

I study nutrition, and I'm pretty sure there are people in my class who suffers from this.

There is particulary one guy who I worry about. Everytime I hear from him, he's put in an extra rule to his diet. There are probably only a handfull of foods left that he can eat.

First he was vegan, which is all fine and easily manageable. Then he became raw vegan, ok, starting to get more difficult. Then he became 80/10/10. Then he specifies it further that it's not just 80/10/10 by the end of the day, each individual thing can have no more than 10% fat or protein. Then he also restricted his fiber intake exessively (no cabbages or it's relatives, no roots etc.). Then he also believes the body cannot consume more than one thing - so each meal has to be only one igredient - now I think he's even doing only 1 ingredient per day. And it's only soft mushy fruit.

We study nutrition, and he's not afraid to speak up and say that he certainly hope we won't go out and claim that health and drinking cow-tit-extract are possible together etc., and if we want to waste our lives with having a beer on a friday, then we know what's coming to us.

He sounds like a blast to party with. :drinker:

He doesn't want to party with us, he won't be associated with such filthy and deadly habits! He'll sit at home and gnaw on a sun dried date

I hope he isn't going to go out after he graduates and preach his eating habits on other people! awful!

RenewedRunner

I think some of you are missing the mental health aspect of it.

It isn't saying eating healthy or exercising is bad. With ON, the obsession with healthy eating and exercising becomes skewed-it takes on an all encompassing focus to the detriment of other activities and functions in life. The focus on rigidity and punishment for any "slip ups", the need to be "good" and "pure," these things are factors to consider. It isn't about "I eat clean and healthy" but more so "I MUST eat clean and healthy. I MUST be good and pure and better. If I slip up, I deserve to be punished and will be more rigid in the future." The narrow focus and linking of diet intake to control is the harm. The obsessive thoughts and inability to take joy in something other than the purity of your food...those are problems.

It technically isn't a dx, so if you think you have it, the clinician would probably have to call it something else in order for insurance to pay for treatment or to validate a need for treatment.

Amestris

I think some of you are missing the mental health aspect of it.

It isn't saying eating healthy or exercising is bad. With ON, the obsession with healthy eating and exercising becomes skewed-it takes on an all encompassing focus to the detriment of other activities and functions in life. The focus on rigidity and punishment for any "slip ups", the need to be "good" and "pure," these things are factors to consider. It isn't about "I eat clean and healthy" but more so "I MUST eat clean and healthy. I MUST be good and pure and better. If I slip up, I deserve to be punished and will be more rigid in the future." The narrow focus and linking of diet intake to control is the harm. The obsessive thoughts and inability to take joy in something other than the purity of your food...those are problems.

It technically isn't a dx, so if you think you have it, the clinician would probably have to call it something else in order for insurance to pay for treatment or to validate a need for treatment.

I agree. It isn't the fact that they want to eat healthy that is the issue but the underlying motivation for that desire and the level of control it exerts on their life. It's one thing to overeat one day and feel bummed about it. It's a totally different beast when you "punish" yourself for overeating by limitng your caloric intake or engaging in hours upon hours of cardio to make up for it. It becomes a controlling obessive force that restricts the individuals ability to engage in and enjoy daily life. In all things life is about balance no person is perfect we will all fall short of our goals at some point. When falling short of a self selected goals causes an individual an extreme deal of unwarranted personal turmoil that is an issue.

No_Finish_Line

perhaps its somekind of obcessive compulsive thing. idk know if it would really qualify as an eating disorder.

its cetainly not unhealthy for them.

either they can sustain it and therefore they apparently aren't restricting themselves too much, or they can't and it wont last long.

constantly going super healthy then binging for a day or week sounds more like an eating disorder, but i think they have that one covered.

monicaP413

Wow, I had no idea. I have been on diets like this, but they never lasted very long. I was obsessed about what I put in my mouth and had many of these symptoms. But I can't be surprised, cause I have gone through all of the other eating disorders. Anything that turns into an obsession like this is not good. Thanks for posting this.

Fenrissa

It's not a gimmick or made up condition. When eating anything other than what you consider "safe" or "healthy" foods gives you severe anxiety and you actually fear what those foods will do to you, or eating them sends you straight into a panic filled with immense guilt and a need to rid them of your body, then yes you are probably suffering from some form of it, or a mixture of this and other eating issues.

Jamr8231

I'm pretty sure I've had it in the past. Cutting out huge groups of food I once enjoyed, and living on the same meals of broccoli, sweet potatoes, and cod etc.

I'm somewhat relaxed these days, but anything can be done to the extreme.

Honeycat89

I'm pretty sure I've had it in the past. Cutting out huge groups of food I once enjoyed, and living on the same meals of broccoli, sweet potatoes, and cod etc.

I'm somewhat relaxed these days, but anything can be done to the extreme.

I was the same, I didn't eat carbs for over a year because I thought they were bad for me after reading stuff online. Now I eat carbs in every meal and i'm healthier than I've ever been. All these health scares make people panic, like sugar at the moment! It will just be another food group to avoid next!

amblight

I study nutrition, and I'm pretty sure there are people in my class who suffers from this.

There is particulary one guy who I worry about. Everytime I hear from him, he's put in an extra rule to his diet. There are probably only a handfull of foods left that he can eat.

First he was vegan, which is all fine and easily manageable. Then he became raw vegan, ok, starting to get more difficult. Then he became 80/10/10. Then he specifies it further that it's not just 80/10/10 by the end of the day, each individual thing can have no more than 10% fat or protein. Then he also restricted his fiber intake exessively (no cabbages or it's relatives, no roots etc.). Then he also believes the body cannot consume more than one thing - so each meal has to be only one igredient - now I think he's even doing only 1 ingredient per day. And it's only soft mushy fruit.

We study nutrition, and he's not afraid to speak up and say that he certainly hope we won't go out and claim that health and drinking cow-tit-extract are possible together etc., and if we want to waste our lives with having a beer on a friday, then we know what's coming to us.

He sounds like a blast to party with. :drinker:

He doesn't want to party with us, he won't be associated with such filthy and deadly habits! He'll sit at home and gnaw on a sun dried date

I hope he isn't going to go out after he graduates and preach his eating habits on other people! awful!

I'm worried about that too, my mom needs a dietician (she has histamine intolorance, which means she's actually allergic to everything in varying degrees, and her symptoms are severe), and when I told her about this guy and some of the others in my class, she was really worried about if she would risk getting a dietician like that.

Though I can't imagine that he'll manage to complete his degree, unless he unexpectenly does a 180 - Sooner and later either he or the proffesors will be sick of his 'opinion' contradicting the facts too often.

Sharon5913

From my personal standpoint, I have HAD to watch what I eat due to Celiac Disease for over 10 years, and now I'm being careful and watching what I eat because I'm trying to be more fit and lose weight. With the restrictions from Celiac, I really DON'T want to become any more obsessed than I have to be to manage the Celiac. I have always stated that Celiac (for me!!) is a condition that can be controlled, and I refuse to be defined by that alone. There is so much more to me than not being able to go out for pizza or burgers.

Just my opinion, of course.

Sharon